Love in the Rain
by Miki Boy
Summary: A collection of Gray/Juvia one-shots and drabbles, delving into the awkward yet beautiful relationship between the fellow water and ice mage.
1. Fairy Tail Endings

**AN: A series of Gray/Juvia one-shots, some may loosely tie together where as others can be read as stand-alone. Rating will most likely change to T in future chapters...**

**. . . . .**

**Love in the Rain**

**. . . . .**

#01 Fairy Tail Endings

_Because she deserved her own happy ending too right?..._

**. . . . .**

If she was in a fairy tale, Juvia knew she wouldn't be the main character.

She wouldn't be the damsel in distress, nor the beautiful fair maiden, nor the trapped Princess guarded by a fire breathing dragon.

If anything, she would be the character who was the main characters rival. The evil-doer, the wicked witch, the one who trapped the princess.

Just like she had once entrapped Lucy Heartphilia in her own water prison.

And who had come to save her but _him_?

The Knight, the hero, the one who fought against herself – the witch – in order to rescue and protect the princess.

And yet, she had been the one to fall for him instead.

And it had been the Dragon who had rescued the fair princess.

Whilst the Knight rescued her...

All in all, it was rather a messed up fairy tale.

The Dragon saving the Princess, whilst the Witch pined after the Knight.

_"Juvia is no princess but Gray-sama; in Juvia's eyes you will always be the Knight who rescued her."_

And if the former pair could defy all fairy tale logic and end up together, then why not she?

_"Eh? What are you talking about? I'm no Knight…"_

Even if she was the Witch...

_"As if I'd be such a pansy who rides a white horse. If I was in a fairy tale, I'd be the dark lord of course!"_

She would capture her own Knight, Prince, whatever-you-wanna-call-it regardless

_"Then what of the witch?"_

To hell with fairy tale clichés…

_"The witch huh?..."_

She too would grasp her own fairy tail ending!

"_Hm. Well I guess even evil witches and dark lords want their own happily ever afters... So why not together?"_

* * *

><p><strong>This feels a bit stumbled in places, but oh well...<strong>

**Also, if you didn't catch it: Princess - Lucy / Dragon - Natsu / Witch - Juvia / Knight - Gray (So I guess there were hints of NaLu in there too)**

**Next chapters will be more focused on interaction between the two.**


	2. Skin to Skin

**. . . . .**

**Love in the Rain**

**. . . . .**

#02 Skin to Skin

_It probably meant nothing to the ice mage, but she could dream right?..._

**_WARNING: SPOILERS FOR FAIRY TAIL CHAPTER 249!_**

**. . . . .**

It took a while, but eventually she heard the voices of her fellow members onwards and a smile appeared on her face.

Their voices nearer, she made one last push before she stumbled out of some bushes and into a clearing where all of Fairy Tail stood.

"Hey… you… guys…" she gasped, trying to catch her breathe from all the effort she'd put in to getting here - crawling with an injured leg wasn't easy.

Immediately, heads show towards her.

"Juvia!" Erza cried, the one nearest to her.

"You're okay!"

At the second voice, her smile widened. Gray-sama!

But then she remembered what he'd said to her before and her smile fell, tears streaming down her face at the thought of her failure. "Juvia is _so_ sorry…" she wailed, reaching out for Gray, "Juvia let Zeref get away…"

As Gray ran towards her, she sniffed. How terrible of her to fail Gray-sama! She could never forgive herself, at this thought she turned around on her hands and knees and raised her rear in the air.

"Gray-sama, please punish me!" she cried, "Give it to me however you like!" She wiggled herself a bit in hopes that he'd take up the offer.

"I… I don't have those kinds of hobbies!" Gray blanched, trying to look anywhere but at her whilst he got smirks from nearby members.

Juvia's face fell further. "But I do…" she moaned.

Call it the near-death experiences or being rescued by Gray-sama, but Juvia found herself suddenly more impulsive and straight-forward.

"C-Cover yourself already!"

On-looking the scene, Lily snorted, "Do you have any right to say that with your stripping habit?"

The ice mage ignored him.

Juvia wailed further, "Juvia failed Gray-sama!"

"S-Sit properly and let me treat you!"

"I'm sorry!"

"S-Stop wiggling like that!"

.

Juvia smiled happily to herself as she sat with Gray treating her wounds, luckily Wendy hadn't gotten around to her yet so for now she was being bandaged – the more time the Air Dragon took, the better.

As Gray finished with her arms, he turned to her legs and frowned. "You got a pretty nasty bruise there… It hurt?"

She blinked out of her dreamy-like state of staring at him, turning her attention to the bruise blossoming on her thigh. Pursing her lips together, she replied, "This is not enough to take down Juvia."

"Really?" he asked dryly, "Wanna prove it and try walking?"

She frowned back at him, her inner-fangirl going into hyper drive. _They were teasing one another!_ Just like couples did whilst flirting… At that thought, her thoughts transformed the scene before her into a scenario set amongst a shining and flowery background.

_Juvia sighed as she lay down, her wrists and legs bonded together tightly with bandages. "Gray-sama…" _

_The ice mage smirked, leaning over her and trailing a hand up her thigh and caused her to shiver, "I always loved bondage…" He murmurred, dipping his head down to claim her-_

"**Juvia!"**

"Eep!" she flinched in surprise, breaking of her fantasy and finding Gray staring at her with a raised eyebrow.

"Ah! Y-Yes Gray-sama?" she asked.

He stared at her with a bland look for a moment before sighing, "I'm gonna bandage this up."

"Okay…" she whispered, still flushed from her recent daydream. She placed a hand on her warm cheek and sighed blissfully.

As Gray began working on her leg and his fingers tickled her skin, she almost went into another full-blown and slightly more mature fantasy; however Gray spoke and interrupted her thoughts.

"Who gave you this bruise?"

"Hm?" she blinked whilst she tried to collect her thoughts. The feel of his hands on her thigh were making it difficult to focus but eventually she realised what he was on about, "Oh!" she smiled. "Juvia did it herself."

"**What?"** he yelled, snapping his head towards her. "W-Why?"

She blinked innocently, "Juvia will inflict any pain on herself if it means protecting Gray-sama…" She trailed off in the end, her face reddening at the words she said as she turned her gaze downwards. _She said it! _She was definitly more impulsive!

Gray stared at her wordlessly, causing her blush to darken. After a few seconds he shook his head and returned to treating her wound, she was disheartened that he didn't respond to her confession but it was easily forgotten at the touch of his hands on her skin.

A few minutes later, Gray nodded, "Right, I'm done. Wendy'll be here in two minutes since she looks like she's almost down with Elfman."

She tried not to let her face fall too much when she realised he meant he was leaving now. Oh well, she couldn't expect too much in one day – she'd already had enough skin to skin contact with Gray-sama in the past 24 hours to last her endless days of fantasising.

"Okay. Thank you Gray-sama." She replied, smiling sweetly at him.

He blinked at the smile and paused, before eventually he grinned back at her. "See ya Juvia."

He patted her leg twice with his hand, turning to stand up. As he did so however, she was all too aware of how his hand stroked down her leg, from hip to thigh to all the way down to her knee, only to pause… Before finally leaving off and breaking contact as he walked away.

As she stared after him with a dazed look, she felt her lips twitching into another smile. It had only been for a second… But in that moment Gray had hesitated before removing his hand off her.

It probably meant nothing to the ice mage.

…But she could dream, right?

* * *

><p><strong>I had originally planned on making this chapter AU but I <em>had<em> to write this after seeing the most recent chapter! Juvia's pervertedness and straight-forward act had me laughing... And I decided to add to it. (^_^) **


	3. Edolas

**Considered posting this as stand alone one-shot, but since originally I wrote it with posting it for this series in mind, I stuck to submitting it here...** **Even if they are different people in different dimensions. (^_^)**

. . . . .

Love in the Rain

. . . . .

#04 Edolas

_Because even in an alternate world, their lives are fated..._

. . . . .

"Juvia-chan!"

"Urgh." She wrinkled her nose in disgust, turning to stare down at the ice mage who suddenly appeared at the foot of the stairs. Resting one hand on her waist, she glared down at him from the second floor as if he was some vulgar thing beneath her feet, "How many times must I tell you to leave me alone? Stop smothering—"

"Have you seen Lucy-san?"

"–me."

Wait, what?

She trailed off, her eyes narrowing as she frowned. "Huh?"

He smiled eagerly at her, "Lucy, where is she? I need to talk to her!"

She paused for a moment, taken back by the fact that she wasn't the girl he was running after for once… However after a few seconds she recomposed herself and curled her lip, she should be happy she wasn't the one the dolt was following around this time, "She's outside moron."

"Thanks!"

He all but dashed out of the Guild after Lucy Ashley, leaving a slightly bewildered Juvia. She stared after him for a moment before rolling her eyes and walking over to a table.

Idiots will be idiots.

* * *

><p>Over the next few days, Juvia found the young man in question strangely absent. He seemed to spend an awful lot of time outside with Lucy somewhere, and the few times he was inside he was usually whispering with her anyway.<p>

Just what was going on between those two?

She sat at a table with her arms folded and legs placed one over one another, a creased line on her forehead as she watched the duo converse quietly at the other side of the Guild. She didn't care about the guy or anything, she was just curious was all…

Wasn't Lucy dating Natsu?

The pink haired boy himself walked by at that very moment, capturing Juvia's attention as she stood up and yanked him back by the collar.

"Yowch!"

"Sit down." She ordered, pushing him into the seat opposite her and folding her arms once more.

"Gyack." He sputtered and coughed, a hand to his throat as he stared at her with wide fearful eyes. "J-J-Juvia-chan…" he stammered when he finally caught his breathe.

"Does it not bother you?" she asked bluntly, cutting straight to the point.

"Eh?" Natsu sent her a confused glance, "What d'ya mean?"

She gestured to the whispering duo with a quick glance, _"That."_

"Hm?" he followed her gaze and after a few seconds glanced back at her with a shrug, "Why would I? Their only talking."

Juvia sighed, "Idiot. The two of them have been disappearing for long periods from the Guild for ages now – sometimes they vanish until sunset. Not to mention the whispering and such." She raised an eyebrow, "It doesn't bother you?"

He laughed, causing the woman to twitch her eye in irritation at the sound. Was he making fun of her?

"Lucy and Gray?" he sputtered another laugh, "Like anything would happen between those two."

"But…" she persisted, "Aren't you dating Lucy?"

His smile instantly vanished in a second much to her pleasure, "W-What? Me and… L-Lucy?" A nervous laugh. "N-No! Of course not."

"_Right."_ She drawled.

He fidgeted in his seat for a few more moments before something seemed to dawn on him and he shot her with a look, suspicion morphing into smugness.

"What are you staring at?" she asked, frowning.

"You seem awfully interested in them considering you don't get along with either of them…" he stated.

Juvia gaped openly at him. Partly because of what he said and partly because why the hell was Natsu acting so confident without his god damn car?

"Could you be… jealous?"

With a snarl, she slapped him across the face, drawing the attention of the entire Guild as she stood up in a huff. "Watch your tongue you filth!" she snapped, glaring venomously at him before stalking off out of the Guild.

How dare he?

She wasn't jealous of Gray! The very idea was ludicrous, not to mention only possible in that stupid alternate dimension Earthland or whatever – a Juvia head over heels in love with Gray? She'd gone on a rampage at the very thought, had she met her Earthland self she would have slapped her silly till sense reached her mind.

"Wait!"

She stopped. A growl on her lips at the eager voice, she spun around ready to unleash hell with a variety on insults at the tip on her tongue…

...Only to feel like she'd been punched in the stomach.

"Lucy-san, wait!"

"Leave me alone!"

She watched as Gray ran out of the Guild after a very angry Lucy, apologising over and over. "I'm sorry!"

Not wanting to be seen - and slightly curious though she'd never admit it - she quickly hid behind a corner of the Guild.

"Forget it! I'm not doing this anymore!" she snapped, wielding on him and thumping him around the head. Gray sat on the floor for a second before bounding right back.

"Please Lucy! I can't do it without you!" he wailed.

Juvia snorted at his pathethic behaviour... Before dimly realising that in her current situation of spying, she could be likened to her Earthland stalking counterpart...

Oh God, she needed to get out of here.

However, just as she was turning to leave, Gray's voice rang out to her.

"Stay with me Lucy! I'm nothing without you!"

She stopped, and for some reason felt something drop in her stomach at those words.

As the two bickered on, Juvia stared at the scene with both shock, surprise and some other bunch of feelings that made her fists clench, lips tighten, eyes narrow, and stomach ache.

Anger…

Irritation…

And, oh God, jealousy.

The damn pink haired dolt was right.

"Screw this." Lucy yelled, trying to pull away from a clingy Gray grasping her leg as he dragged across the ground.

"No! Lucy-san, I need you!"

"Let go!"

"No!"

Juvia snapped.

**"Oi!"**

Both heads turned and their eyes widened as the sight of a ferocious monster storming their way over, they barely had time to utter a word before a fist drove out and collided with Gray's face, sending him flying several feet into the air.

As he landed on the floor with a resounding crash, Juvia glared at him, "You god damn bastard! If I ever see your face again, I'll kick you in the fucking balls and rip off the very thing that makes you a man!"

Lucy Ashley could only watch in both horror and fascination as the blue haired woman stormed off back into the Guild, silence descending between the reamining duo as she slowly turned her gaze on an awakening Gray.

"W-What happened?" he asked, blinking blearily and sporting a bloody nose and soon-to-be black eye, "I thought I saw Juvia…"

Lucy smirked suddenly and folded her arms, "What happened was the happy proof that our plan worked."

"Eh?"

"Never mind… I'll tell you when you haven't got concussion."

* * *

><p>"Juvia…chan?"<p>

The woman in question froze in her place, slowly turning her head to burn holes into the intruder who dare interrupt her quiet peace.

"**What?"**

The intruder – Elfman – swallowed nervously, "Um… L-Lucy wants to talk to you."

"What does that hussy want?"

The man blinked in surprise at her hateful voice, it was usually Levy who hated Lucy, "Um… I dunno, she just says to come to the main floor at once."

Stormy eyes pierced into him for a few torturous moments long before she sighed, "Fine…" Standing up, she walked past him and began descending down the stairs allowing him to breathe easy once again.

The women at the Guild just kept getting scarier and scarier each day…

* * *

><p>"What d'ya want Ashley?" Juvia snapped, entering the main floor of the Guild.<p>

The blonde in question sat on a table in the middle of the room, slowly turning around to smirk at the woman. "Oh hey Juvia, just wanted to introduce you to my new… boyfriend."

Everybody sucked in a breathe as Gray who had been sat beside Lucy stood up and smiled sheepishly, "Hey Juvia-chan."

She stared back evenly, her face suddenly blank. "Is that all?"

Lucy frowned at the reaction, standing up she slung an arm around Gray and leaned into him. She smirked as she noticed the twitch on an eye.

"You mean… you're okay with it?" she asked, blowing into Gray's ear and causing him to blush.

"Of course." Hands slowly formed into fists.

"Oh good! Because I was scared I'd be stealing him from you or something!"

"Have him."

Eyes narrowed.

"You sure?"

Teeth clenched.

"But of course Lucy-san."

"Hm… Then it'll be alright if I do this right?"

Everybody watched in shocked silence as the blonde leaned into a blushing Gray, puckering her lips up as she dived for his mouth. No sooner has she done this that a table came hurdling at the couple.

"What the fuck!" Lucy snapped, narrowly jumping out the way and glaring at the offender, "Are ya crazy?"

"Juvia is not!" she exclaimed, returning the angry stare, "Now step the hell away from him and go jump off a cliff and die!"

Lucy scoffed, "Why should I?" she cried, "There's nothing going on between you two! You're not even dating!"

"Yes we are."

"Eh?"

"Eh?" Gray repeated.

"**EH?"** the Guild cried.

Juvia nodded, "You heard Juvia." Walking up to a stupefied Gray, she glared at him, "From this moment on, Gray is dating Juvia and shall kiss nobody but her."

And with that, she pulled the young man into lip lock.

A tense moment of silence passed.

And then chaos broke out.

Squeals, cat calls, cheering and screaming sounded from the Guild members as Juvia kissed Gray who eventually seemed to get the idea and kissed back.

This carried on for at least ten seconds before Juvia stepped back, a tint of barely noticeable pink lacing her cheeks, "R-Right?"

"U-Um… Yeah, sure." Gray replied, his eyes glazed over.

"Oh well, I tried and lost." Lucy drawled, watching the scene with boredom. "He's all yours Juvia, Natsu get over here!"

Juvia ignored Lucy, instead glaring intensely at Gray, "You're coming with me."

"Yes ma'am."

More cat calls followed as Gray found himself dragged upstairs to the empty second floor, a party breaking out to celebrate the new couple.

Juvia pulled her new boyfriend to the confines of the furthest corner before whirling on the ex-mage, "Alright, spill."

"…Huh?"

"You and Lucy."

"Me… and Lucy?"

"Explain."

He stared at her for a few moments before realisation dawned and he laughed nervously, when he noticed her less than amused expression he cut it off. "Okay, um... Me and Lucy were never going out."

"…You weren't?"

"No, see… I went to Lucy asking how I could get you to go out with me and Lucy said she'd help and pretend to date me since she'd love to see you get wound up and angry."

She made a mental note to punch the blonde.

"So she came up with the idea of us two hanging out with one another to make you suspicious…" he smiled weakly, "Um, but when you slapped Natsu she got a bit angry at that – I think she doesn't want anybody but her hitting him – and ran out and almost called it off, I think that's when you hit me… I'm not sure, I don't remember much."

Oh… So that explained the argument she witnessed.

"So… You were never dating the bitch?"

"Nope."

"No kissing?"

"Nope."

"Good."

She pulled him into another crushing kiss, trying to hide the blush on her face when she pulled back and glared at him. "So what did you and her do all those times when you left all day?"

"Oh…" He took a step back and grinned, "You're always telling me to strip down so I wanted to practice to make you like me! So Lucy took me to a nearby town, stuffed me in a cramped room, lit a fire… That way I'd get so hot that I'd strip!"

"Huh…" she mused.

"Yup," he smirked, taking a step closer to her and causing her to back up. Whoah, what was he doing?

"And it worked too…" he went off, pulling off his scarf and discarding it to the floor, all the time moving closer and herself backing up – what was wrong with her? Why was she backing away? She was supposed to be fearful dammit!

"Really?" she asked, eyes widening when her back hit a wall.

"Uh huh…" He stopped a few feet away from her and draped the coat off… And the gloves… And the jacket… And another jacket… Juvia was amazed he got that far but she couldn't help but feel the blush leave her cheeks as it went on and on…

Talk about ruining the moment.

Gray scowled in irritation, unwrapping himself like a parcel as he went on and on and on…

"Oh stop it already!" she snapped, grabbing him by the shirt and pulling him forward, "They can come off as we get to it!"

"Yes ma'am."

* * *

><p><strong>Was a bit difficult writing Edo-Juvia's personality... (o_O) Hopefully I kept her IC. <strong>

**And yeah, rating's now moved up to T due to some minor swearing and hinted scenes... Won't change any other times now though.**

**P.S - Yes, Juvia uses first person pronouns sometimes in this chapter. Mainly because the Edo-version DID use them sometimes when we were introduced to her, usually being when she was talking to Gray and annoyed with me.**


	4. Eavesdropping

**AN: This is AU just to note since that isn't really made clear till half way through, it's in a University setting in a dormitory where the students live (I plan on doing a full fic in the future in the same setting).**

**. . . . .**

**Love in the Rain**

**. . . . .**

#04 Eavesdropping

_Two teenage students alone in a dormitory room? I wonder where that leads too..._

**. . . . .**

"Gray-sama!"

"Oh no..."

"Shall we?"

"Please, _please_ Juvia, not again!"

"B-But…"

"We just did it twice! I'm exhausted!"

"A-A third time wouldn't be so bad…"

"No." A pause. "You're too fast…"

"…Sorry."

_Sigh._ "Just… give me ten minutes to get some of my energy back…"

"Yay!" A huge smile. "Don't worry Gray-sama, Juvia will help you improve! She's an expert at all the techniques!"

He merely grumbled in response.

Silence.

"So… now?"

A groan "Fine, fine, if it'll make you happy!"

"Yay!" she clapped her hands eagerly.

"Sit down on the sofa then."

With a nod, she removed her jacket and sat primp and proper on the couch waiting. A few moments later Gray slid beside her and sent a predatory grin her way.

"Ready?"

"Ready!"

…

"**FIGHT!"**

* * *

><p><em>"FIGHT!"<em>

"What the fuck?"

The students exchanged confused glances at the exclamation, three of them currently crowded around Juvia Loxar's dormitory room, listening in on the conversation. Each held blushes on their faces at the words exchanged but they couldn't help but be caught off guard by the ending.

Natsu frowned, "I don't get it. Are they having sex or not?"

"Natsu!" Lucy balked, mortified by his bluntness.

"What?" he asked, "I just wanna know if he's getting laid finally."

Erza glared, "Enough." They glanced her way. "We're going in."

"What? Wait! No, Erza!"

"Cover whatever parts you don't want seen!" Erza roared, slamming the door open.

"What the?... Erza?"

The three eavesdroppers all stepped in and stared on the scene with shock, Gray stared back at them with equal surprise from his spot on the sofa where as Juvia simply spared them a quick glance before she continued with her antics.

"Juvia is winning!" she cried, bouncing up and down in glee whilst her character ran forward on the TV screen.

"Hey wait, I was interrupted!" Gray snapped, turning his attention back forward.

"No Gray-sama! Watch out for that tree!"

"My legs!"

"The gorillas! Watch out!"

"Gyah! My arms!"

"Gray-sama died!"

Lucy blinked once at the scene before mutely turning and leaving the room, the other two shortly followed her example with Erza closing the door to a click behind them.

They remained silent for a moment.

"So, ice-cream?"

* * *

><p>Juvia let out a cheer as her character ran past the finish line, Gray currently falling off a cliff (again) and swearing loudly.<p>

"Dammit." He hissed.

Juvia sent him a smile, "Gray-sama will improve."

"Hn." He snorted.

She smiled at his poutful expression, seeing him as something of a sulking kid. Wanting to cheer him up, she thought of an idea.

"Gray-sama?"

"Mm?"

Leaning forward, Juvia pursed her lips and placed a soft kiss on his cheek.

Or, you know, it would have been on his cheek had he not turned his face to her at the last moment.

They both froze in position, their lips pressed against one another and eyes wide-eyed.

Neither of them moved.

A second passed.

Five seconds.

Ten seconds.

Finally Juvia seemed to pull herself together and jerked away from him whilst sputtering, "Juvia is sorry! S-she did not mean to-"

"Don't apologise."

"Wha—mmph!"

* * *

><p>As Gajeel Redfox walked down the dormitory hall after a long day of classes, he paused upon hearing giggles from the room next to his own. His hand just an inch from the door handle, he glanced side ways at the closed door with a frown.<p>

"Juvia is winning!"

"Moron! Don't say it like that!"

Another giggle.

"Does Gray-sama want Juvia to teach him some techniques on this too?"

A playful growl. "Shut up and lie down."

"Yes Gray-sama."

The next day, everybody looked on with worry at the silent and subdued Gajeel Redfox. Rumours appeared, gossip flew, but to this day nobody ever found out what horrifying matter had emotionally scarred the young man.

Maybe it was better off not knowing.

* * *

><p><strong>Poor Gajeel... It took years of therapy to erase the scars...<strong>


	5. Winning

**AN: Because let's face it, the two idiots would strike a contest over _anything._**

**. . . . .**

**Love in the Rain**

**. . . . .**

#05 Winning

_Gray refuses to lose to Natsu in anything - even his girlfriend's breast size._

**_._ . . . .**

A chuckle.

Gray's eyes narrowed at the sound and he turned his head to the source, "What'cha laughin' at?" he snapped, his words slightly slurred after several rounds of drinking that night.

Natsu grinned idiotically back at him, "I win."

"Ha! Yeah right!" he laughed, not even aware of what Natsu was talking about - but it didn't matter either way since Gray refused to lose to the hot headed man in _anything_.

"It's true." Natsu retorted, a smug smile on his face. He folded his arms with somewhat of a triumphant air about him.

Gray glared at the young man.

"Gray? Natsu?" a voice chimed in, "I think you two have had enough don't you?"

Natsu's lips widened into a chesire cat grin, glancing up at the blonde who was staring at them both with a frown, "Hey Luce."

"Don't 'hey Luce' me." she snapped, placing her hands on her hips, "You're drunk."

"Am not."

"Are too."

_"Amnot!"_ he slurred.

Bored with their bickering, Gray turned away ready to leave, however this caught Natsu's attention and he growled, "Oi, squinty eyes!"

He glanced back at him with a bored expression, "What?"

Grinning once more, Natsu lifted a finger and pointed to the blonde's large assets, "See! My girlfriend's boobs are _way_ bigger than your girlfriends!"

Lucy balked at Natsu, slapping his finger away from her breasts and yelling at him.

Gray wasn't bothered by that though, instead he was already set on proving him wrong. Standing up - and grabbing onto the bar to balance his swaying self - he turned around to the Guild, "Juvia!"

The water mage in question popped her head around from a pillar, a guilty expresison on her face. Although the two had been dating for little over a month now, she still seemed to find it difficult to drop the hobby of secretly watching him.

"Y-Yes?"

"Cm'ere."

She blushed but complied, walking over to stand a few feet in front of him. "Y-You called?" she squeaked, fidgeting under his gaze.

Gray glanced at her expression for a second longer before his attention dropped down several inches, he stared intently for a moment before snapping his head back to Natsu - who was still being a victim to Lucy's unleashed wrath - and shouting, "Hey!"

The pink haired man in question glanced at him.

"You're wrong!" he snapped, "My girlfriend's breasts are obviously larger!"

As if to support his argument, he grabbed one.

Several seconds of silence passed through the Guild.

Then chaos broke out...

It took them weeks to rebuild the place (and years of therapy for some to get over their fear of water).

* * *

><p><strong>Omake:<strong>

"Oi Gray!"

"What?"

"I bet my girlfriend lasts longer in bed than yours!"

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah!"

"JUVIA! Get over here!"

* * *

><p><strong>Literally wrote this up and submitted it in under ten minutes - it was a quick burst of inspiration. (^_^) So if there's any mistakes, forgive me.<strong>


	6. Choice

**This idea has been turning in my head for a while now... Warning, it is a bit angsty. **

**. . . . .**

**Love in the Rain**

**. . . . .**

#06 Choice

_He had to choose... The life of the woman he loved, or the life of an entire population?_

**. . . . .**

He had to choose.

Never had he thought he'd be given such a difficult decision.

He knew that logically, the answer was obvious. The life of one person or an entire town?

And yet, his stupid heart just had to get in the way. Messing with his mind and morals and pushing him onto a balanced scale where both choices meant equally as much to him.

The dark mage was grinning manically, his eyes gleaming as he watched Gray struggle between his decision.

What was it going to be?

Juvia Loxar's life…

Or the population of an entire town?

He stood still, his eyes flitting between both.

The two of them had set off for this mission a few days ago, it was supposed to be easy… Just investigate some suspicious activity around the huge damn on the outskirts of Freesia Town. They'd never expected to uncover a plot to wash away the whole area by blowing up the overlooking barrier.

They'd fought against the dark guild's mages all morning, finally coming to the top of the damn where the ring leader stood. He'd taken them off by guard; they'd been exhausted from their fight… Less quick in their reflexes. And before Gray knew what was happening, the man had knocked out Juvia and now stood poised over her with the tip of a sword only inches from her neck.

He could save her.

All he had to do was jump forward and use his magic, and if he was fast he could block the sword and save the water mage he loved so much.

But if he did that…

The man had laughed when he'd explained the situation to Gray, revelling with glee in his suffering.

As soon as he took one step forward, all it took was one press of the button in his hands to detonate the bomb and blow up the damn, sending thousands of tonnes of water flying down the cliff sides to drown the town and it's many thousands of inhabitants.

He could save them.

All he had to do was jump forward and use his magic, summoning all he had to freeze the water as it burst out.

But if he did that…

Either way, he'd lose something precious whilst saving a life.

"Well?" the man laughed, "What'll it be?"

His eyes once again flickered between Juvia and the detonation button in the man's hands, dammit it all, if only they'd come with other members… If only Natsu or Erza where here. If only...

And it was then that he realised with a sinking feeling… that he _had_ to choose.

Nobody was going to appear as help and save him from making the decision.

He had to choose.

He had to lose one or the other…

And just as that thought registered in his mind, something happened.

Juvia woke up.

The man had barely glanced down before the water woman struck into action, whacking the sword away and rising up to throw a punch. The man stumbled back, his thumb pressing down on the button.

"Gray-sama!"

He didn't need any other warning to make him move into action.

He ran forward, the area around them rumbling as the damn obliterated before them. He yelled above the roar of the explosion, magic coursing through him as the falling water transformed into ice.

They'd done it.

And yet…

All he could focus on was the sheer terror of having to choose.

* * *

><p>They sat beside one another, their hands inches from one another.<p>

The dark mages had been arrested, a team of mages now working on fixing the dam. They now sat on a fence in a field on the outskirts of the town, idly waiting around since their train had another hour before it arrived.

Juvia was smiling, talking happily about how they'd succeeded and how they could use some of the reward money to go on a date.

"…and I have a new dress I can try on that I just bought last week, and I saw these great shoes that I can buy to go with it which I'll wear on our date!"

"Juvia."

"And then we can… eh? Yes, Gray-sama?" she glanced at him with curious eyes.

He glanced towards her, his face blank.

They'd gotten lucky this time.

Juvia had managed to rowse herself out of her incapacitated state, saving him from making the decision.

But what if she hadn't?...

Or, what if he had to make the decision again in the unseeable future?

What _would_ he choose?

Even he couldn't predict which choice he'd take.

Juvia's face melted into a soft smile, her eyes studying his expression and stormy gaze.

"Juvia does not think you should linger on it."

His face darkened, "But…"

She placed her hand above his, giving him a squeeze. "Juvia refused to let Gray-sama choose between such a decision, she stopped him from having to suffer." Another smile. "Everything turned out fine."

Her words did nothing to cheer him up, his gaze leaving hers as he glanced down. Her fingers tightened around his hand.

"Juvia promises she will never let Gray-sama be forced to choose between such a tough choice again."

And for some reason, the way she said those words… It sounded so ominous that Gray had to lift his head once again to see her expression.

Determination shone in her eyes, her lips pressed tightly together as she stared into his eyes.

"Juvia will save him from making such a decision." A pause. "No matter what."

And he realised what she meant.

What other way was there to stop somebody from making a choice between two… other than to remove one from the equation?

Even if it was permanent.

His eyes widened at her statement, staring at her in horror.

She simply smiled back at him, leaning forward to press a chaste kiss against his lips. It took him a few moments but he eventually he reciprocated the gesture, his free hand sliding around her neck as he pulled her in closer, meshing their bodies together.

They spent the rest of their hour with one another in the field, and although Gray tried to forget it, he knew… Somewhere in the back of his mind, he found himself all too aware of the possible prospect of what could happen again.

Because even with what Juvia had said, he knew that no matter how long he dwelled on it, he'd never know which choice he'd take… which one he'd save.

And not knowing that…

It terrified him more than anything.

* * *

><p><strong>When I thought up this idea of Gray choosing, I was soon met with the problem of "wait, <em>what<em> would he choose?". Because the thing is, either way I couldn't figure out what choice Gray would take... So whilst in this case he escaped the decision of choosing, I wanted to portray his terror over not knowing what action he'd take if faced with the choice again.**

**I think it's threat most of the FT characters would have trouble dealing with - the life of a loved one or the life of many? Friendship is an important key theme within the manga - _and oh God, that last chapter! I was crying, damn you Mashima, they better not be dead!_ - but so is protecting the lives of those who count on mages to save them.**

**So yeah, bit of a depressing one-shot. But the next one I have planned is much more light-hearted and has some nice Gruvia fluff. XD**


	7. Joined Hands

**Short drabble - thought it up as soon as I saw the recent chapter... **

**. . . . .**

**Love in the Rain**

**. . . . .**

#07 Joined Hands

_Because together, they would get through this..._

**_WARNING: SPOILERS FOR CHAPTER 253!_**

**. . . . .**

She felt her legs trembling as chaos came down on them.

She gritted her teeth against the pain in her thigh, she'd already depended on Gray to carry her to safety once during this fight against such a monstrous beast. She wouldn't let such meaningless pain get the best of her again.

She closed her eyes, aiding Freed with her magic like all the others.

On her right stood her S-Class partner Lisanna with their hands joined, her hand felt petite in Juvia's and clammy.

And on her left she held tightly onto the hand of Gray-sama, the man she loved. His fingers clasped with hers gave her almost as much courage as the rest of her Fairy Tail nakama combined.

Acnologia released its magic.

Destruction flew down to them.

The earth shook.

The air hummed.

Their hands tightened...

They would survive together no matter what.

* * *

><p><strong>Very short. But I HAD to write something for that chapter... D: As soon as I finished reading the last page, I actually found myself sat frozen before saying out loud "what the hell?". Damn you Mashima! *Shakes fist* I'm calmer than I was on Saturday though since I'm confident in that everybody will be alive - you can't just kill all your main characters off after all, it's just... impossible. They'll reappear - either though being frozen in time, sent to the pastfuture/alternate world etc etc. Take your pick. That angel-like girl - Mavis? A Fairy? - probably sent them wherever.**


	8. Text Message

**Wow, check out the quick updates! (o_o) Ideas just keep coming... **

**Another very short chapter. But I couldn't get the idea out of my head. XD This can be seen as a sequal to chapter 4 - where it's an AU in a University dormitory - or a stand alone. I do plan on starting a story of inter-related one-shots surroudning the characters living in a Uni dorm at some part...**

**. . . . .**

**Love in the Rain**

**. . . . .**

#08 Text Message

_Let it be known that hormonal teenage boys can cause great damage on bedroom doors..._

**. . . . .**

She sucked in a deep breathe, her face flushed as she held the small phone in her hands.

Should she send it?

She was going to send it.

Wait.

No.

Maybe not…

Yes?

Better not to.

But then again...

Oh screw it! She was clicking 'send'!

With a small chime, the text message sent and the blue haired female collapsed backwards onto her sofa with a loud sigh.

She'd done it.

Not even five seconds had passed before she heard a crash from the room besides her own, causing her to jump up with a small 'eep.'

There were a few more loud noises from through the wall before silence descended.

She swallowed nervously as a few moments ticked by.

Her eyes strayed to her phone screen, no reply… Instantly her mood soured.

Her decreasing mood was interrupted by the crash of a door and she once more jumped up, w-what was going on?

Something bashed against the door causing her to let out a small gasp and back away towards the other side of her room, the knob turned several times but remained locked much to the intruder's frustration as heard from his strangled groan.

"**JUVIA! Open this fucking door!"**

"G-Gray-sama?"

"**Well who the hell else is it gonna be?" **his voice yelled as he bashed a fist against the door. **"Open up!"**

"Wah, your reaction scares me!" she wailed back, clutching at the phone in her hands as she retreated further.

"**What the fuck? Is this some sick joke?"** he growled, **"If you don't open this door in the next five seconds, I'm breaking it down!"**

"_Gray-sama is scary!"_

* * *

><p>From within the dormitory hallway, Lucy along with many other spectators had come out of their rooms upon hearing the yelling, watched the amusing scene. Gray bashed the door furiously, his own door next to the room swung wide open and now the result of a huge hole in the wall. From the huge bruise on his forehead, she could imagine he'd whacked it pretty hard on something...<p>

"What's with all the yelling? I was sleeping…"

She glanced behind her at the sleepy voice and rolled her eyes, "It's four in the afternoon you dolt, normal people are awake."

Natsu ignored her, instead focusing on the yelling Gray several feet behind her.

"What's with him?"

"Hm?" she glanced back around to the young man who was now red in the face as he pounded on his girlfriend's door. "Oh…" she smirked coyly. "Juvia sent him a message."

"A message? Saying what."

"I want to do it."

…

"What's 'it'?"

* * *

><p><strong>Oh Natsu... *Shakes head sadly* There's no hope for you is there?<strong>

**Also, I hope Juvia doesn't intend on getting the deposit for her room back at the end of the year... Judging from Gray's persistance, her door will probably end up obliterated within the next two minutes...**


	9. Heat

**. . . . .**

**Love in the Rain**

**. . . . .**

#09 Heat

_If Gray was an ice mage, then why did his touch leave her feeling so hot?..._

**. . . . .**

* * *

><p><em>It was like a game.<em>

_A long, torturous, never-ending game to see who could suffer the most before cracking..._

* * *

><p>She stared into space as she leaned in her seat, her elbows propped on the table and supporting her head. Lucy and Levy both sat opposite of her, both in animated discussion about some book which she tuned out.<p>

Her thoughts strayed off to images of a certain ice mage instead. Fantasies which included scenarios involving him, her, and many romantic gestures. The images in her mind made a smile appear on her lips.

"Hey."

"Hi Gray."

She quickly snapped out of her thoughts, her head lifting as she glanced to the side. Gray nodded to the two speaking girls before sliding into the seat besides Juvia.

His leg brushed hers.

Swallowing thickly, she turned her attention back forward. Act normal!

"What'cha talking about?"

"Lu-chan's book."

"Oh yeah, that novel from before…"

Juvia calmed down as he spoke with the two girls, his lack of attention allowing her the chance to settle down.

"It's really good!" Levy cried, glee in her eyes, "Romance, adventure, mystery…" she sighed dreamily.

"Uh huh."

Juvia moved to grab her glass of juice, her fingers grasping it and-

_OhmyGod._

Her eyes widened at the hand resting innocently on her right thigh, her eyes darting down to the offending limb carelessly spread on her leg. Following it from the wrist up, her eyes slid over to Gray.

"How long's the book?"

She blinked when he refused to look at her, instead continuing to continue the conversation. Was he not aware of where his hand was?

Then she saw it.

It was barely noticeable, only viewable to those who paid close attention to the ice mage – which of course Juvia did do so - and knew his expressions...

A smirk.

Instantly her eyes narrowed, her lips pursing together.

Still speaking to Lucy and without sparing a glance her way, his hand tightened, his fingers gripping around her skin.

She slapped a hand over her mouth to hold back a gasp.

"Eh? You okay Juvia?" Levy asked, sparing her a concerned glance.

"J-J-Juvia is fine!" she stammered, removing her hand whilst her cheeks turned red.

She glanced at Gray out of the corner of her eye, amusement dancing in his eyes as his lip quirked further.

She had to do something aswell!

She raised her hand but then paused, where could she place it? His leg? But no, she felt she needed to do something more bolder… She guess she could innocently bring her hand up his leg, delicately brushing _that._

The thought nearly made her faint.

Okay.

New idea.

She glanced over her shoulder, there was a wall behind them so it wasn't like anybody could see her doing it could they?...

With a nod and her mind set, she lifted her hand, slowly placing it behind Gray to-

_"Mmph!"_

"Gray?" Lucy frowned, cutting off in her explanation, "What's the matter?"

The ice mage darted a quick glance to the innocent seeming Juvia, "Nothing. Just a... sore throat."

"Oh." A shrug. "Well as I was saying…"

Juvia could feel blood pounding in her ears, her hand placed at the bottom of Gray's back as her fingers brushed the edge of his boxers (since he was once again wearing nothing else).

She watched from her peripheral vision as Gray swallowed noticeably, his hand on the table clenching. She felt an odd sense of pride at being the one to do that.

Unfortunately her smugness didn't last long.

Her eyes widened as his hand began to slide up, his fingers spreading out and softly tracing her skin. Her skin burned wherever he touched her, even with the cloth of her dress in the way of the contact, and Juvia had to bite down firmly on her lower lip to keep in a gasp.

If he kept doing that…

As his hand rose up higher, Juvia's body jolted, her fingers dipping down Gray's back with the movement.

Dipping down beneath his boxer shorts.

"**Fuck!"**

Silence.

Lucy and Levy, along with many other nearby members, all stared in surprise at the ice mage. Gray's face twisted in frustration as he yelled the sudden profanity. Even Juvia was taken off guard by it, staring in wonder.

"G-Gray?" Lucy asked, bafflement on her face.

He stiffened, his eyes bulging as he realised what he'd just done.

"I um…" he laughed nervously, "Sorry, just stubbed my toe painfully."

The blonde narrowed her eyes, "If you wore clothes, that wouldn't be a problem."

"I-I guess."

Suddenly very confident, Juvia let her fingers slide down a bit lower. Gray tensing at the action, his eyes flickered over to her, glaring as she smiled sweetly back at him.

"So, Gray-"

"I'm leaving."

"Huh?"

Standing up suddenly (and causing the water mage to retract her hand back quickly), the ice mage clenched and unclenched his fists. His eyes pinned to the floor, he stepped away from his seat. "Juvia, you come aswell."

"M-Me?"

"Yeah, I need your help with… something."

"O-Okay."

Standing up, the blue haired female followed the ice mage out of the Guild, a slight skip in her step as she did so. Lucy stared after the duo with raised eyebrows.

"What just happened?"

"No idea."

* * *

><p>Juvia smirked as Gray pushed her against the wall of the nearest alley they could find.<p>

"So I won this time?"

He glared at her.

"That means I'm in the lead since- mmph!"

The female felt her entire body heat up as the ice mage smothered her with kisses, her eyes drifting shut and arms lazily circling his neck as her mind floated in ectascy.

Yup. She won.

* * *

><p><strong>*Smirks*<strong>


	10. Game

**A little OOC but this is more of a crack instalment anyway. :p **

**. . . . .**

**Love In The Rain**

**. . . . .**

#10: Game

_Wow, he was such a good kisser- Wait, no! Stop yourself Juvia! _

**. . . . .**

Her chest heaved up and down as she took in deep breathes, her back pressed flatly against the wall as she peeked through the doorway and onto the corridor.

He was somewhere.

She didn't know where, but she knew it was _him_. His tell-tale ice magic had been used to freeze the front apartment door and window latches, effectively locking her in.

Swallowing deeply, she tip toed out. Readying her magic should he jump out at her… Oh God, she could feel blood pounding in her ears and her heart hammering against her chest. It didn't help that she'd felt his presence in the apartment whilst in the shower – meaning that right now she was still dripping wet with only a thin gown to wear.

Entering the main room, her eyes flickered around. Bare feet pacing along wooden flooring, he didn't seem to be-

She slipped.

Letting out a small scream, she fell forward onto a floor that suddenly had a coat of ice layering it. At the sound of a chuckle, she sent a jet of boiling water behind her, leaping up and using the liquid to melt the ice beneath her.

He leapt through the water, ignoring the pain and instead ramming into her body and sending them both to the floor. As she winced at the bump on her head, she fluttered her eyes open only to meet his face staring down at her from merely a few inches away.

Her entire face flushed as she took in their compromising position, her gown had hitched up slightly around the legs which were currently tangled with his own. It had also opened slightly at the chest, offering her intruder a large amount of cleavage view.

As his eyes fell down and he raised an eyebrow in amusement, she gasped and raised her hands ready to blow him away with a geyser of water.

"Ah, ah."

Grabbing her hands together, he pushed them forcefully above her head, ice forming around her wrists. Her eyes narrowed; did he think that would stop her? She could simply use her water magic to-

"Looks like I'm gonna have to keep you distracted."

"Wha- mmph!"

Her eyes bulged as he suddenly dipped down and pressed his lips against hers, her entire body going into overdrive. What did he think he was doing? _How dare he! _She was going to... to... um...

Wow, he was a good kisser.

Wait! No! He was an enemy, he'd broke into her apartment for crying out loud!

But his hands felt so good on her body…

Resist the temptation Juvia!

Give in…

Fight it!

She moaned.

No, no, no! Stop it already!

He finally pulled away, a coy smirk on his lips as he stared down at the flustered water mage. "Like it?"

She glowered up at him. She couldn't believe she just kissed Gray Fullbuster and actually enjoyed it.

He grinned, a hand running up the side of her body as he leaned down to her, his body pressing firmly against hers. "Want to find out about other things that can make you feel good?"

"Y-You wouldn't…"

"Hm?" he raised an eyebrow, "Let's see shall we?"

And suddenly he'd stood up, pulling her along… She was falling onto the sofa, letting out a small gasp… He was climbing onto her, eyes gleaming…

Hands running along her body, lips pressing against her neck, words whispered in her ear…

And-

"OUCH!"

Gray froze, eyes snapping up to her face as she yelped. When their eyes met, tears began to gather in her tears.

"Oh shit…"

"That hurt…"

"Don't cry!" he yelled, eyes wide as the water women began sniffling. Dammit, he hadn't meant to thrust against her so hard that it sent her head crashing into the armrest…

She glared at him, suddenly leaping up right and pushing him backwards, he let out a small yelp as he toppled over backwards off the sofa.

"I don't wanna play this game anymore!" she wailed, rushing out of the apartment.

"Ow… Shit, wait Juvia! Hey! _You're_ the one who thought this role play up!"

"Juvia?" a voice gasped from within the hallway, "What happened?"

"Gray hit me!"

"He WHAT!"

"Fuck! Wait! No, no, no! Don't say it like that!"

* * *

><p><strong>(-_-) Random ideas are random... <strong>


	11. Scheming

**HAD to write this when I saw the recent chapter. :3 Of course, if you're an anime-only person then DON'T READ THIS! Spoilers ahead.**

**. . . . .**

**Love In The Rain**

**. . . . .**

#11: Scheming

_When Sherry and Juvia both decided to team up, the entire Guild wept in despair..._

_**_WARNING: SPOILERS FOR CHAPTER 256!_**_

**. . . . .**

"_Could this be what they call love at first sight?"_

When Lyon Bastia, member of Lamia Scale, confessed those words to her, Juvia could only despair at the chaos it would cause.

"Uwaaah… He didn't waste a second." Lucy gasped as Juvia stood frozen in shock before the older man.

"Not this annoying crap again!" Gray yelled, walking elsewhere.

Juvia wallowed, what would become of this new development? The love relationships between her, Gray-sama and her rivals was already complicated enough!

She could deal with the girls going after Gray such as Lucy, Lisanna or Ultear (or any other female who got too close), she was confident she could keep ahead of them in the race for her Gray-sama's heart!

But… Somebody liking _her_?

Oh! The horror! It would be-

"PANDEMONIUM!" she shrieked.

"What an imagination…" Lucy said in response to her fantasies.

"Gimme a break." Gray muttered.

"Fair lady, give me your hand!" Lyon called.

"Wah!"

"Huh, Lyon-sama?" Sherry asked, finally noticing the scene.

* * *

><p><em>"You're. After. Lyon-sama?"<em>

Juvia shook her hands frantically in front of her at the hissing woman, "Juvia is not! She swears!"

Sherry Blendi glared at her murderously, "Lyon-sama is mine, he-" a hiccup, "He-" Suddenly the young woman burst into sobs, "I love Lyon-sama more!"

Juvia quickly backed away as the older woman reached for her neck. "Juvia would never get in the way of a woman's love! Juvia's heart belongs to Gray-sama!"

Sherry stopped crying.

"You do?"

"Juvia would never stray from his love. A woman's heart is never so fickle!"

A widened smile. "Ah, you understand!"

The two love-sick girls embraced and laughed giddily, their sudden switches of emotions quite frightening to passer-bys, "Ten years of utter devotion to Lyon-sama…"

"Forever following Gray-sama…"

"From the moment we met…"

"The moment we fought…"

"His eyes…"

"His hair…"

"His smile…"

"His body…"

"Aaaaah~" the girl swooned.

* * *

><p>"Achoo!" Gray and Lyon both rubbed their noses.<p>

"Dammit, coming down with a cold." Gray muttered.

Lucy raised an eyebrow, "If you put your clothes on, you wouldn't get one." She drawled.

"What do you- oh shit."

* * *

><p>"Then it's decided!" Sherry declared.<p>

"Mm!" Juvia nodded eagerly.

"Operation: Maidens in Love!" they both yelled.

"First, we have Gray fall desperately in love with you..."

"Then, whilst Lyon is upset, you come in and comfort him and ta-dah!"

"We both have our men!"

Collective giggles went between the duo, the noise enough to frighten any members who strayed too close.

The few who had been close enough to hear their scheming, all grimaced. Whenever Lamia Scale came around, it sure would be interesting…

"Let's go start now!" Sherry squealed, clapping her hands.

"Plan A, go!"

Everybody sent out silent prayers for Gray and Lyon.

* * *

><p><strong>Honestly never saw Lyon falling for Juvia. XD Was a funny moment.<strong>

**I may write a sequel in this series following on from this one-shot, will see... It could be fun to find out how their so called "plan" went.**

**P.S - The "sneezing scene" for anybody who didn't know: Basically, it's said that when you sneeze, somebody is talking about you behind your back somewhere... (^_^)**


	12. Carry You When You Fall

**Okay so this is my last addition to this series. (^_^) Quite sudden and sorry but I want to focus more on multi-fic stories, but rest assured Gruvia will appear in some form in many of them…**

**But at least it's a **_**loooong **_**final one-shot… It's AU, so enjoy! ****It got a bit random and took on a life of its own… I'm a bit iffy on the ending and feel like it diverted from its original plot. But hopefully it'll be enjoying to read regardless.**

**. . . . .**

**Love In The Rain**

**. . . . .**

#12: Carry You When You Fall

_When he first met her, they were both nine years old… And that's when his life got so much more complicated…_

**. . . . .**

When he first met her, they were both nine years old.

She was also bawling her eyes out.

He glanced up and down the hospital corridor, hoping for some adult to appear who he could tell about the young crying girl. Unfortunately, nobody appeared in sight and as the seconds ticked by and the girl's wails got louder, the guilt eating at him from inside finally became too much.

Appearing at the door, he knocked twice on the door.

The girl's eyes darted to where he stood; she frowned with unfamiliarity when she saw him. Lifting an arm, she wiped furiously at her crying eyes. "W-Who are you?"

When she removed her arm, her eyes were still puffy and red, she sniffed and took a deep breathe that shook her entire body.

Crap. He never was good with girls, _especially_ crying girls.

"H-Hi." He said awkwardly, forcing a smile that came out more grim than intended. "I'm Gray."

She frowned, watching him warily, "I don't know you."

"No…" he scratched the back of his head and glanced down, "Well I'm here visiting a friend."

His idiot friend had decided he'd drive his bike down a steep – almost vertical – road that ran into a main road, somehow neither he nor any of the other kids who had come round to watch the spectacle had thought about the consequences. And those of the older kids – Mirajane, Cana - who _did_, were too busy laughing to say anything.

One broken leg and several bruised ribs later, here he was in hospital.

Obviously the girl before him didn't know this so his comment was pretty pointless. As seen by the evident frown on her face.

He really wanted to leave…

But she was still upset.

"So…" He began walking a few steps further into the room, "What you in for?" She had a bandage wound round her head but aside from that…

At this she sniffed again, clutching the cloth around her chest. "I fell into a road and got hit by a car…"

His eyes widened as he reached the side of her bed. "Wow, really?"

She nodded.

"And you survived?" he smiled, "Awesome."

At this, her expression fell. "Mm…"

"Eh? What's the matter?"

She shook her head, wiping furiously at forming tears again. "Juvia is fine but the doctor's say she might not walk again…"

"Who's Juvia?"

"Me."

"Oh…" A pause. "_Oh_."

The girl nodded, sending him a watery smile.

Wow, not being able to walk… He glanced down at her legs but since they were covered by the sheets he couldn't see anything. Instead, he returned his gaze to her face.

"Where's your family?"

"Mama's busy at work… And papa's on holiday."

"Where to?"

A shrug. "He's been on holiday since as long as Juvia can remember; mama says we can't reach him so we don't know when he'll come back."

Gray grimaced at the explanation. He'd already lost both his parents so he saw clearly through the falsified truth of her father's absence. But when Juvia glanced at him, he forced a smile for her sake.

Glancing around the room, he began pulling a chair nearby the window over to her beside.

"Huh, what are you doing?"

Sitting down, he smiled at her. "I'll stay with you for a bit instead then."

She blinked. "But your friend…"

He snorted. "That idiot's fine, Erza and the others will have gone to his room already anyway." He glanced back at her. "Anyway, I'd get my ass kicked by them if they found out I left a crying girl."

Juvia blinked innocently at him, the last of her unshed tears vanishing. Slowly, a smile formed on her lips and her eyes brightened.

"You'll stay with me? Really?"

He grinned at her, a grin that became ever familiar to the young girl.

"Really really."

And that was when Juvia Loxar fell for Gray Fullbuster.

.

"Faster! Faster!"

"I'm going as fast as I can!"

"Faster!"

Gray Fullbuster, now ten years old, grunted as he pushed the wheelchair with more speed. The girl sat in the chair – her weight didn't make the pushing any easier – squealed and flung her hands in the air.

"Oi Juvia! Cm'on already."

At the voice, Gray pulled to a sudden stop, Juvia lurching forward and letting out a yelp as the seatbelt yanked her back into place.

"Crap. Sorry."

"S'okay." She said, rubbing her chest. Her eyes glanced over to the older boy as Gray pushed her over towards him. "Hi Gajeel!"

The thirteen year old grunted, arms folded as he glared at her. "You're gonna be late for your appointment."

Gajeel Redfox, childhood friend of Juvia Loxar. The two had lived in the same apartment complex with their families since they were born, Gray saw the two more as brother and sister than friends.

"Sorry…" Juvia mumbled.

Gajeel's eyes wandered over to the boy stood behind her, "You coming too?"

Before he could open his mouth, Juvia cut in.

"No, it's just you."

Gajeel glanced from the smiling Juvia to Gray, whose face fell slightly at the words. Saying nothing, he took the handles from Gray's grip and nodded at him. "See ya."

"See ya."

"Bye Gray-sama!"

The younger boy winced. "I told you not to call me that!"

A giggle.

As the two friends vanished off into the apartment complex which overlooked the road he stood on, he sighed. Placing both hands in his pockets, he turned and began walking. It was only a ten minute walk back to his place if he took a shortcut through the park, it had been a surprise to both him and Juvia when they found out they lived so close to one another.

He frowned at the thought of his friend. For two years now they'd known one another, first meeting whilst she was in hospital… Their relationship grew when he visited her every time he went to see Natsu, continuing even when Natsu was discharged. This continued for over a week until one day he went in and found out Juvia Loxar had been let go…

Of course. Not even five days later he bumped into the girl in a wheelchair on a street, both staring with shock as their parents – or foster parent in Gray's case – wondered what was going on.

Kicking a pebble on the road, his mind drifted to their time spent together today. The slightly younger girl seemed to have grown a thrill for being pushed fast by him, something their mothers frowned on and so they kept it a secret from the adults…

He worried about her sometime. Mainly because the more time that passed on, the less likely it became she'd ever walk again. She had weekly sessions at therapy, the place she'd left just moment ago to go to. But despite Gray showing an interest to attend with her, the girl had always refused strongly, telling him with a determined expression that when she did eventually invite him along, she wanted to be able to have made enough progress to wow him.

It was the first time she'd refused him anything actually…

Usually she was keen to do anything he asked, always smiling and wanting to please him. Gray wasn't blind; he knew she had a crush on him. He only hoped she wouldn't confess her feelings, it'd only break their friendship when he rejected her – and reject her he would, because at the end of the day he only saw Juvia as a younger sister type friend.

Please God don't let her confess.

.

"What do you mean you're moving?"

He stared in horror at the girl, blown away by her statement. When she'd called him over with "something important to tell him", he'd instantly imagined her confessing to him.

But this was much worse.

She was blinking several times every second, fighting back tears as she bit her lower lip. "M-Mama got offered a job in another country, s-so…." A deep breathe. "We're moving over there."

"But…"

"They have better hospitals over there for helping me with my walking aswell."

He stared at her in stunned silence as she finally gave in and began crying, their current position reminded him an awful lot about the first time they met. Three years onwards, both twelve, and here he was once again watching as she cried… Only this time he couldn't think of anything to say that would help.

Swallowing thickly, his hands formed into fists by his side as he struggled to keep control of his voice. "W-When are you leaving?..."

"Three weeks."

"I see."

Sniffling, she wiped at her eyes. And when she looked up, Gray was taken aback by the sudden determination in her face.

"B-Before Juvia leaves, she wants to give you something!"

He took a step forward-

"Stop!"

He blinked, frowning in confusion when she held her hands up to him.

"What are you-"

"S-Stay where you are." She murmured, "J-Juvia will bring it you herself."

His eyebrows furrowed at the comment, "I don't understand…"

Digging into her pocket, she pulled out a wrapped box small enough to fit in her palm. Then reaching for the buckle around her waist, she undid it.

At the sound of the tell-tale 'click', Gray's eyes widened and he took a step forward. "You idiot, what are you-"

"Juvia wants to show Gray-sama!"

Eh?...

"Juvia wants… to show how hard she's been working."

Gray could only watch with shock as Juvia grabbed onto both sides of her wheelchair and began to pull herself up, the strain it took was obvious but a few seconds later she was standing on both feet, in not a bit unsteadily.

Raising her left foot, she watched the floor ahead of her with determination burning in her gaze.

"J-Juvia…"

Left foot down.

"Has been working hard."

Right foot up.

"All this time…"

Right foot down.

"To impress Gray-sama."

The same pattern happened several times over, gradually closing the distance between them both. A few times it looked like she might fall but whenever he moved to help her she only yelled at him not to move whilst regaining her balance.

It was heart-breaking.

It took five minutes to close a gap of what was only twenty feet.

She fell two times.

She pulled herself up both times.

When she was finally in front of him, she lifted her head to smile, eyes shining with pride. As she collapsed into her arms, Gray quickly moving his arms out to catch her, he swore and called her an idiot.

"D-Did Juvia impress Gray-sama?"

"…Yeah."

She smiled, expression beaming. "This is for you Gray-sama, I was saving it for your birthday."

"That's four months away."

She blushed and glanced away, "I-I picked it early…"

With a smile, he took the present and unwrapped it. Raising an eyebrow at the item.

"A necklace?"

"It's a chain with a silver cross on it."

"So… a necklace?"

She pouted, "You don't like it?"

"What? Oh shit, don't cry, I love it!"

"Really?"

"Really really!"

"Yay!"

He let out a strangled cry as she leapt up and wrapped her arms around him, constricting his windpipe in the process.

"J-J-Juvia!"

"I'll miss you Gray-sama!"

"…I'm dying…"

.

For the first half a year, the two childhood friends stayed in contact through calls and online exchanges, spending time at least once a week to talk.

Another year onwards and their exchanges became less frequent, they were lucky if they managed to speak more than once a month.

Fifteen years old, one exchange in a year. Their conversation was stilted and awkward, both realising how far they'd drifted apart.

From then on they didn't speak anymore.

For a while this lack of communication continued, and Gray came under the idea he'd never again meet his old childhood friend.

However, come when he reached his final year of high school, that changed,

Seventeen years old, Gray Fullbuster sat in his classroom whilst exchanging insults with Natsu Dragneel.

"Alright guys, settle down!" the teacher yelled, entering the classroom.

The two boys sent final glares at one another before reluctantly sitting in their seats.

"Alright guys, good morning. Today we're gonna have a new student introducing herself…"

From besides Gray, fellow student Loki smirked and leaned towards him. "I saw that chick this morning, talk about a babe."

He raised an eyebrow.

"_Huuuge_ chest." Loki added, wiggling his eyebrows, "Could even give Lucy a run for her money."

Seriously? Gray failed to see that, they had enough huge breasted girls in this school to start their own club.

"Cm'on in Miss."

Gray glanced over as the new student timidly entered the classroom, shoulders tense and back straight.

No way…

"Nice to meet you all!"

His eyes bulged out of their sockets.

"I'm Juvia!"

Besides him Loki smirked, "Told ya, nice rack.

His gaze shot to the playboy teenager.

Loki nodded approvingly at the blue haired teenager, "Would love to go down on- FUCK!"

Everybody watched in shock as the teenager went flying to the floor, Gray standing over him with murderous eyes and a raised fist.

"What the hell man?" Loki yelled, standing up and glaring at him.

"Gray-sama…"

He froze, eyes flickering over to Juvia who was staring at him with widened eyes, lips parted in silent surprise.

Natsu frowned, "I could swear I've seen you somewhere before…"

"Idiot. It's Juvia, remember? Gray's friend." Erza scolded.

Juvia's lips slowly widened, "GRAY-SAMA!"

He barely knew what was happening before the teenage girl ran forward and propelled herself at him, arms locking round his neck as she pushed them to the ground.

"Gyack! You're strangling me!"

"Waaaah! Juvia missed you so much!"

"No fair, the new girl's only been here a second and already Gray's got dibs on her!"

"Get a room you two!"

"Oi guys, pay attention in class!"

.

"So… You can walk now."

"Y-Yeah. Juvia began walking properly shortly after she left."

The two teenagers sat awkwardly besides one another, now sat alone on the rooftop of the school during break.

"Why didn't you mention it when we called one another?"

"Well, Juvia knew she'd come back here someday, somehow… She wanted to surprise you by showing you first-hand. See!" Standing up, she twirled around as if to show off her ability.

Gray found himself smiling, "You changed your hairstyle."

"Mm."

Infact, as she went on to eagerly describe how she'd managed the ability to walk, he realised how much she'd grown since he last met her. The once petite girl was now tall and slim, her hair cut short in a spiky styled manner. And as much as he wanted to deny it… Loki had a point about the young woman, her assets _were _large. Gray had found himself flushing when she leapt at him in the classroom and effectively smothered his face between them.

All in all though, he was just happy to see her again.

"…Before I couldn't walk that far before getting tired out but now I'm the same as everybody else and I've even-"

"It's good to see you again."

She stopped, eyes drifting over to him as he smiled at her. Her cheeks heated and she quickly glanced elsewhere, hands clasping behind her back. "J-Juvia missed Gray-sama too…"

And just like that, the childhood friends were reunited and everything was once again the same as before.

.

"Things can _never_ be the same as before."

Lucy blinked at the horrified looking Gray, confusion dawning on her face. "Um… what?"

"Juvia!" He said, staring as if expecting her to know what he meant.

She frowned and using both arms she pushed him away to try and regain some personal space, "First of all Gray, pants." Before he could do the usual swearing and panicking, she went on, "Second, what about Juvia?"

"She's... she's…" he groaned, raising a hand to his face. "Juvia's a girl."

Lucy frowned. "And?"

"_And_," Gray replied, emphasising the word, "How the hell are things meant to go back to normal between us when the last time I saw she might aswell have been any other guy!"

Lucy processed his words for a good minute before it sunk in, a coy smile breaking out on her face. Leaning forward, she leaned both elbows on the table whilst supporting her head in her hands. "Ooh, is Gray saying he actually aware of the opposite sex?"

"What? Of course!"

"Well, you've never shown interest before… Most of us thought you were gay."

"WHAT?"

"Anyway," she said, waving off his shocked look, "So what if Juvia's a girl? You're fine around me, Erza and the others."

Gray groaned again, "But you don't force me into hugs and throw my face into your chest!"

Lucy noticeably blushed at the imagery.

"You see!" he raved, looking very much a mad man. "How can I hang around normally with Juvia when she keeps pressing those- those- those THINGS in my face!"

"Um Gray?…"

"What?"

"Have you ever considered dating Juvia?"

"…Huh?"

Lucy rolled her eyes, "You said so yourself that even you're aware of how much she likes you, and that's been going on for what? Eight years?"

Gray scowled. "It's not that long." He mumbled. "It's not like she liked me from the first time we met."

Lucy raised an eyebrow, "You sure?"

Silence.

She sighed, "Look Gray, Juvia likes you… _Really_ likes you, and if she's had a crush on you for eight years then you can definitely bet it's not something that's gonna go away easily."

Gray continued to simmer.

Brushing past him, Lucy walk off.

"Just think about it."

.

"What is Gray-sama reading?"

Gray jumped at the sudden voice in his ear, quickly amending his movement and glancing at the face hovering over his shoulder. "Just some magazine…" he muttered, trying to return his attention to the pages before him.

It proved a lot harder when the female in question pressed up behind him for a better look, and those… things… pressed against his back.

Oh Lord…

"Juvia did not know Gray-sama was into cars."

Focus, Gray, focus!

"U-Um… yeah…" he replied awkwardly, his face a little flushed. "It's boring, you won't be interested." _Just lean away already!_

Juvia smiled at him. "Anything Gray-sama likes, Juvia likes."

She pressed further against his back. Her breathe fanning across his neck and sending chills down his spine.

"Gray-sama, what is-"

"_**Gotta go!"**_

Juvia could only let out a gasp of surprise as Gray all but bolted out of the classroom, leaving her staring after him in confusion. The hurt on her face didn't go unnoticed by her classmates…

"Don't worry Juvia-chan." Levy said, "He's just running because he likes you."

Instantly, the taller blue haired girl froze. Face reddening. "L-L-Likes me?"

Natsu grinned from his table, "Well duh."

Everybody laughed and joked, Juvia simply stood there like a statue as she stared into space. A few seconds passed before she fainted at the sudden imaginative scenarios this new development brought to her.

"Aah! Juvia fainted!"

"Somebody get the nurse!"

"I'll do CPR!"

"_NO LOKI!"_

.

"You're an idiot you know that?"

She groaned. "Juvia's heard hurts…"

"Well of course it hurts! It collided with a table corner and hardwood flooring!"

"Is Gray-sama angry?"

"Of course!"

"Oh…"

"I'm angry at myself."

"Eh?"

"You fell and got hurt…" He frowned. "I'm supposed to be there to catch you and protect you."

She blushed.

"J-Just promise to be more careful okay?"

"Y-Yes Gray-sama."

Nurse Mirajane smiled to herself as she watched the blushing couple in the school infirmary.

.

Lucy blinked as she walked in one morning, taking in the many students in the classroom who were definitely not in her class usually.

"W-What's going on?" she asked.

"Cana's taking bets." Lisanna replied.

"On what?"

As if to answer her question, Cana – currently drowning in a sea of shouting students – yelled, "Cm'on guys! Take your bets! Gray Fullbuster and new girl Juvia Loxar, how long till they get together?"

Oh.

"Also, separate betting on how long till they do the deed!"

Lucy groaned and walked back out. "I'm having no part in this…"

.

Feeling eyes on him whilst eating, Gray lifted his head to find a blushing Juvia staring wide-eyed at him.

"Um… Juvia?"

She blinked. "Gray-sama used my spoon…"

"…Yeah?"

"My spoon that I'd used."

He shifted uncomfortably, "Sorry?"

She broke into a sudden smile, "Juvia had her first indirect kiss with Gray-sama."

Oh.

_Oh!_

He slouched lower in his seat whilst the rest of the table laughed and teased him.

Oh God…

.

"How beautiful my fair maiden…"

Patience Gray… Patience…

"U-Um…"

His eyebrow twitched.

"So tell me dear lady…"

Don't. Make. A. Scene.

"Do you have a date to prom yet?"

_Snap._

His breaking point shattered, Gray jumped out of his seat and stormed down the isle. Heads snapped around as the teenager picked the playboy Loke up by his tie.

"O-Oh! Gray, how nice to see you!" A nervous laugh. "I was just talking with Juvia-chan here-"

Releasing his tie, Loke backed up several steps, smiling sheepishly as his eyes flitted between the two of them. "Seems Cana will be winning my lunch money…"

"Huh?"

"Nothing."

As the lady catcher vanished, everybody stared in silence.

"Juvia?"

"Y-Yes?"

A pause. Gray glanced down at her, "You wanna go to prom with me?"

"…Okay."

"Cool."

Juvia smiled brightly at him.

As he returned the expression, everybody exchanged knowing smirks.

Not long now…

.

"You alright?"

"Eh? Oh… Juvia is fine." A sheepish smile. "Although Juvia can walk, she's not very good at running for long periods of time…"

"Oh." He glanced from side to side down the road, catching the odd students running past. They were in the middle of a marathon for their sports lesson right now, currently about half way through.

He glanced once more at an exhausted Juvia before rolling his eyes, turning around he crouched down to the floor. "Cm'on, get up."

"Eh?"

"I'll carry you the rest of the way."

He didn't even need to look to know she'd be as red as Erza's hair, hopefully she didn't faint…

A second later, a pair of arms wrapped around his neck and his hands held under her legs as he stood and lifted her up with a small 'oomph.' He grimaced at how much her breasts pushed against his back.

Juvia giggled as he began at a slow jog, arms holding loosely onto him.

"Gray-sama?"

"Yeah?"

There was a moment of silence and he was about to ask again in case she didn't hear, when she replied:

"Will you… promise Juvia something?"

At her words, he frowned, eyebrows forming together as he slowed down till he was simply walking, catching his breathe a bit before responding. "Promise what?"

There was another brief pause and he wished he could see her expression.

"W-Will Gray-sama and Juvia… always be together?"

Damn. He _really_ wished he could see her face.

Without any hesitance, he grinned and replied, "Of course."

The arms tightened around his neck and he felt her rest her head on his shoulder, "Thank you…"

He smiled and resumed their walking, "Tell ya what, whenever you have problems walking and need a hand, I promise I'll carry you_ all _the way back home or ya know, wherever we were heading."

"Really?"

"Sure. Didn't I say I'd always catch you when you fell?"

Juvia sighed blissfully at the line, pressing her face into his neck. "Juvia likes Gray-sama."

He smiled.

"I like you too Juvia."

"Really?"

"Really really."

* * *

><p><strong>Damn, I wanted to include a kiss or something at the end but it was getting too long and a kiss there felt too forced… Oh well.<strong>

**A few scenes are random and could have been taken out but they were sweet and I liked them so they stayed…**

**Anyway, if you spot any mistakes, please say. (^_^) Only checked through this once. Hope you enjoyed it.**


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